CATHAY PACIFIC'S CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMITMENTS In addition to making a major contribution to Hong Kong's economy through its investments in people and infrastructure, Cathay Pacific is also actively involved in a variety of community initiatives under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) banner. The airline s CSR efforts have been recognised in various ways. In 2008, the Social Welfare Department awarded the company a Merit Honour in Highest Service Hours Award 2007, while the airline was also awarded the 5-year plus Caring Company Logo by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services in 2009. This was the seventh year for Cathay Pacific to receive the Caring Company Logo since the launch of the scheme. AVIATION Cathay Pacific I Can Fly Programme The Cathay Pacific I Can Fly Programme is a unique educational concept combining the essence of social service with aviation know-how. First launched in January 2003, 3,000 students have already graduated from the programme. The third I Can Fly Programme was launched in 2007, recruiting 1,000 Hong Kong students aged between 15 and 18 who all had a passion for aviation and an interest in community services. One-hundred of those selected were from the Tung Chung community the home town of Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific pilots and staff volunteers lead the I Can Fly members in a series of aviation and social service activities during the programme period. With the help of staff volunteers, the members are given the chance to design and implement their own social-service projects for community groups in need. One-hundred programme members who perform exceptionally well are selected to take part in reward trips overseas where they learn more about different aspects of aviation. A number of former I Can Fly participants have since become part of Hong Kong s aviation industry. Advanced Aviation Education Programme Cathay Pacific is committed to promoting local aviation education and has supported the Advanced Aviation Education Programme, organised by the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps, since 2000. The programme covers basic aviation knowledge and is conducted during the summer. Cathay Pacific has sponsored tickets to outstanding awardees since 2004, enabling them to fly Melbourne, Australia, to attend flying courses. Cathay Pacific City Visits Cathay Pacific s headquarters complex, Cathay Pacific City, features fully equipped aviation and training facilities that are opened to different non-profit initiatives. In Page 1 of 5
2008 the well-structured tour programme served more than 10,000 visitors from 260 groups from schools, universities and non-governmental organisations. EDUCATIONAL English on Air Programme This unique programme involves English-speaking Cathay Pacific staff from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds, encouraging local students to practise their spoken English. Up to July 2009, about 725 students from five Tung Chung secondary schools were invited to Cathay Pacific City to meet and mingle with Cathay Pacific volunteers for English-speaking sessions. Life Education Activity Programme (LEAP) Cathay Pacific is the main sponsor of the Life Education Activity Programme (LEAP), which teaches young people in Hong Kong about the dangers of drug and substance abuse, as well as running discussions on peer pressure, decision-making and the human body. The airline has supported LEAP since 1994. An average school year sees more than 80,000 students from 170 schools attending the LEAP sessions. ENVIRONMENTAL Cathay Pacific International Wilderness Experience Since 1994, Cathay Pacific has been sponsoring specially selected young people from countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region to attend a once-in-a-lifetime wilderness experience in South Africa. The students, aged between 16 and 18, not only learn about man s impact on the Earth s delicate ecological balance, but also take part in numerous cross-cultural activities. Almost 600 students have taken part in the programme since its launch. In 2008, 38 selected youngsters from 9 cities including Hong Kong were shortlisted to join a seven-day ecological course with the theme Amanzi World of South Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa to learn about environmental protection and conservation. FLY greener Cathay Pacific, together with sister airline Dragonair, launched FLY greener, a voluntary carbon offset scheme, in December 2007. The programme gives passengers the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint by offsetting the carbon emissions attributable to their journey. The programme, the first carbon offset scheme from an Asian carrier, offers passengers the option of using cash or frequent flyer miles to pay for their offsets. FLY greener is an extension of an in-house carbon offset programme associated with staff business travel which has contributed nearly HK$2 million (worth of 30,000 tonnes of carbon credits) that has been used to buy offsets. Page 2 of 5
The carbon offsets provide funding for environmental projects that either remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or prevent emissions being released in the first place. MEDICAL The Cathay Pacific Wheelchair Bank Set up in Cathay Pacific s 50th anniversary year in 1996, the Wheelchair Bank aims at raising funds to purchase specially adapted wheelchairs for children with neuromuscular diseases. To date, more than HK$8.7 million has been donated to the Wheelchair Bank. From 1999 onwards, an average of one month s proceeds from Cathay Pacific s Change for Good inflight fundraising programme is allocated to the Bank each year. Over the past 13 years, the Wheelchair Bank has helped more than 300 needy children, supported more than 2,100 clinic attendances and handled over 4,000 spare-part changes and modifications. Some of the wheelchairs have served up to seven different people. Project Orbis Since 1989, Cathay Pacific has been a major sponsor of Project Orbis - the world s only flying eye hospital. The airline provides free and discounted air travel for Project Orbis personnel, enabling the Project s volunteer eye surgeons to fly into Hong Kong and join the Project Orbis aircraft before it visits remote places in countries such as China, the Philippines, Myanmar and Mongolia. Hong Kong Society for the Blind Since 2004, Cathay Pacific has been providing sponsorship for the Hong Kong Society for the Blind which provides comprehensive services for the estimated 75,000 blind and visually impaired people in Hong Kong. The Sunnyside Club Founded in 1987, the Sunnyside Club is a registered charity set up by Cathay Pacific staff. It concentrates primarily on improving the well-being of mentally and physically challenged children in Hong Kong. The motto of the Club is We put smiles on faces. VOLUNTEERING The CX Volunteers team was set up towards the end of 2007 and by August 2009 had more than 600 members. CX Volunteers activities to date have aimed at providing social services to the Hong Kong community, including a number of major initiatives for the Tung Chung community and other needy communities in Hong Kong. Page 3 of 5
Initiatives for Tung Chung community Cathay Pacific and the Swire group invested some HK$12 billion in infrastructure at Hong Kong International Airport, providing employment and neighbourhood facilities for the nearby community in Tung Chung. Since moving into its corporate headquarters at Cathay Pacific City in 1998, the airline has contributed to the Tung Chung community in a variety of ways. The latest initiatives include: Organising two community flights for more than 280 students and members from underprivileged families who were mostly first-time flyers, of which one flight was themed to encourage students to practise their English Charity sales organised by Cathay Pacific volunteers to help underprivileged families Around 2,500 items were donated by staff for Christmas Giving Week and given out as Christmas gifts for Tung Chung youngsters with a party held for 60 kids. Taking over 500 youngsters and their families to enjoy the Asian Youth Orchestra Family Fun Fest Concert in 2008 and 2009 Visits to home-alone elderly in the remote Sha Lo Wan Tsuen village Other initiatives The CX Volunteers also helped to arrange Christmas gifts for Sham Shui Po children together with a party at Cathay Pacific City. And in January 2009, in conjunction with Caritas Hong Kong, about CX Volunteers helped distribute recycled computers to some 130 underprivileged students from Sham Shui Po, offering basic computer skills at the same time. Also in August 2009, volunteers helped in a postrenovation clean-up project for the Small Group Homes managed by the Mother s Choice. CHARITABLE DONATIONS Change for Good Since 1991, Cathay Pacific and UNICEF have been organising the Change for Good fundraising programme. Travellers on board Cathay Pacific are encouraged to donate any spare change they have to UNICEF when returning from their journeys. The money collected is used to fund UNICEF s immunisation programmes and healthcare projects in over 150 developing countries. Every year, volunteers from Cathay Pacific also travel to areas where UNICEF is putting projects into action, enabling them to see how the spare change is being used to change the lives of millions of children. Change for Good raised over HK$10 million in 2008, and since the programme s inception the amount raised now totals more than HK$91 million. Ticket sponsorship Cathay Pacific has been supporting members of the community through the donation of air tickets to meet their travel needs. Major beneficiaries include ORBIS, LEAP and Hong Kong Society for the Blind. Page 4 of 5
The airline also supported the Hong Kong SAR Government s new Internship Programme for University Graduates (UGIP) in 2009 by offering special fares to its two destinations in Mainland China, Beijing and Shanghai, for those who need to travel for their placements. Ad-hoc fundraising campaigns In September 2009, Cathay Pacific made a donation of NT2,200,000 (approximately HK$520,000), with matching to staff donation, to help the victims of Typhoon Morakot, which devastated parts of Southern Taiwan. The money was given to the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation for helping the victims. Since 14 May 2008, more than HK$20 million was raised for victims of the Sichuan earthquake by the Cathay Pacific Group and staff of the Group s two airlines, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair. Most of the money was donated to the Hong Kong Red Cross to boost relief efforts. More than 400 staff of the Group took part in a scarf-knitting initiative by the Swire Group to provide warm scarves and shawls for Sichuan earthquake victims. More than 15,000 hours of volunteer work led to the knitting of some 2,000 items. Continuing the donation effort, more than 6,400 toys and stationary items were donated by staff in July 2009 for children in Sichuan to use in the new school year. Cathay Pacific and its staff also helped with a major fundraising initiative in the wake of the Asian tsunami, raising more than HK$7 million to help relief efforts. Page 5 of 5